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Chipotle shares fall 8% after miss on same-store sales growth; reactions mixed

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Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG) shares sank more than 8% after the company’s Q2 numbers fell short on same-store sales. The burrito restaurant chain beat expectations for second-quarter profit and reported revenue that was mostly in line with expectations.

Second-quarter adjusted profit of $12.65 a share beat the consensus of $12.29 a share. Revenue, which rose more than 13%, was $2.5 billion as was the consensus estimate. Same-store sales rose 7.4%, while analysts had expected 7.5%.

Chipotle said its restaurant-level operating margin improved to 27.5%, up 230 basis points from last year. It opened 47 new restaurants in the quarter, including 40 locations that have a drive-thru Chipotlane.

Chipotle’s third-quarter guidance points to same-store sales growth in the low-to-middle single digits, and it reaffirmed its annual guidance for comparable sales in the mid-to-high single digits.

Barclays analysts hiked the price target on CMG stock despite “mixed” results.

“We believe Chipotle can generate ~20% annual EPS growth longer term. With that said, investors continue to prudently debate valuation, which is where we struggle, especially with broader investor concerns likely to rise on high growth, high valuation names into a slowing macro (albeit still not evident),” the analysts said.

On the other hand, Wells Fargo analysts cut the price target by $200 to $2,200 per share.

“The Q2 bar was high, comps fell slightly short, and the 2H outlook has its sticking points. While our LT bull case still stands (white space, throughput, RLM upside, etc.), we’re back in the penalty box,” they wrote.

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